Professor Robin Feldman’s wisdom on the patent world was quoted in U.S. Law Week, in its coverage of a conference on so-called patent trolls at Stanford.

Feldman (@RobinCFeldman) said she has two related concerns about the domestic industry requirement. “The first is a question of whether you can use bad behavior to bootstrap yourself into a good position” and extract licenses, using those licenses to claim a domestic industry status, Feldman said. The second goes back to the notion of what is a domestic industry, which means products.

"In the game of patent reform we've been playing catch-up ball along the last five years. It's worth trying to think ahead where the next problems will be so we can try to deal with them at the more nascent stage," Feldman said. Read more from BNA here (subscription required).

Professor Feldman’s empirical work on the effects of patent monetization entities was also cited in an article on JD Supra, "Who’s That Walking On My Bridge?: Navigating ‘Patent Troll’ Activity In The UK And Australia." Read the piece here.

Some faculty members such as Williams, director of the Center for WorkLife Law, believe that women should not adopt the self-citing habits and attitudes of their male colleagues. She said that there is inevitable pushback when women self-cite as much as men. Williams adopted this aggressive self-citation approach earlier in her career and said:

“I almost immediately realized the same rules didn’t apply to me. Self-promotion is part of the tightrope of being too aggressive, and when women promote themselves they almost always get pushback from both other women and from men.” Read more from Free Republic here.

Professor George Bisharat published an op-ed on the academic boycott of Israel. The 5,000-member American Studies Association voted in December 2013 to join the boycott, becoming the third scholarly group in the United States to do so that year. Bisharat writes: "Supporting equal rights for all residents of the Holy Land, regardless of religion or ethnicity, is a far greater gift to that region--and effective use of free speech--than the next jet fighter." The op-ed was picked up by a dozen outlets. Read more, from the Fresno Bee, here.

Jordan Kerner

Jordan Kerner ’76 will give the spring commencement address at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Kerner produced The Smurfs movies, Fried Green Tomatoes, and Charlotte’s Web. Kerner served as dean of UNCSA's School of Filmmaking for five years, leaving in 2012 to return to filmmaking fulltime.

"With his knowledge of the school and his vast professional experience in the film industry, Jordan Kerner is an excellent choice to inspire our graduates," Interim Chancellor James Moeser said. "He knows what it takes for students to succeed at theSchool of the Arts, and he understands what it means to be a successful professional artist." Read more here.

Robert Farrell

Robert Farrell ’77 has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer at Amarantus. He also serves as Corporate Controller and Vice President of Financial Operations.

"Amarantus is very well positioned to generate significant shareholder value through the further development and commercialization of its key assets in the months and years ahead," Farrell said in a press announcement. "I am pleased to be joining now at this critical juncture as the Company prepares to uplist its common shares to a national stock exchange in 2014 as we commercialize LymPro, initiate a Phase 2B clinical trial for Eltoprazine in Parkinson's disease and prepare the MANF Program for an orphan drug designation submission. We expect 2014 to be a transformative year for Amarantus as we lay the groundwork for long-term shareholder value creation." Read more here.

Malcolm Kushner

Malcolm Kushner ’80, pictured above, published a column about his new humor book, in California Lawyer magazine, “A Laughing Matter.”

He writes: "As a law student at UC Hastings in the late 1970s, I wrote a column called Ask Mac for the school newspaper. It featured advice that often poked fun at lawyers and law students. I still remember a question from a first-year student who wanted to know how he could get enough exercise when he had to spend all his time studying. The answer: Take law school gym - you chase an ambulance around a track. It seemed funny to me then, and even novel."

Kushner has taken on the responsibility of spreading the word on snappy comebacks. “It was also a way for me to make amends for being one of the perpetrators of lawyer jokes early on! Here's a sample: 'What's the difference between a lawyer and a mosquito?' The response the joker means to set up: 'One is a blood-sucking parasite, the other is an insect.' But you can beat him to the punch line by quoting former lawyer and comedy writer Bob Mills: 'A lawyer has never given anyone malaria.'"

"Will my comebacks make lawyer jokes disappear? Probably not. But they do show that a law degree really can be used for something besides practicing law, and that just as lawyers serve a meaningful purpose, so do humor consultants." Read more here. Follow him on Huffpo here.

Kathy Hibbs

23andMe, the leading personal genetics company, appointed Kathy Hibbs ‘88 as chief legal and regulatory officer. Hibbs brings more than 20 years of legal and management expertise in the clinical laboratory and medical device industries to 23andMe. Hibbs will oversee the legal and regulatory functions of the company. Prior to joining 23andMe, Hibbs served as senior vice president and general counsel, responsible for the legal, regulatory and business development functions at Genomic Health. Read more here.

Ryan Young

Ryan Young '10, Legal Counsel with the Greenlining Institute published an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle on climate change. He and co-author Alan Jackson of the Natural Resources Defense Council write: "The millions of Californians receiving the first 'climate credit' on their electricity bills in April have the state's landmark climate and clean energy law to thank. Not only is the Global Warming Solutions Act, known as AB32, reducing the amount of carbon pollution dumped into the atmosphere and improving the air we breathe, it also is literally paying off for customers of Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric." Read more here.

Sari Zimmerman

Sari Zimmerman spoke to California Lawyer magazine about the latest job search techniques when switching jobs "midstream." A key strategy is "relationship cultivation," says Zimmerman, assistant dean for the Office of Career & Professional Development. For example: Christopher Diaz changed jobs after a friend at a dinner party gave his contact information to an attorney whose firm was expanding in his specialty, municipal law. Of course, Diaz researched the firm to make sure it was a good fit and then prepared for interviews. And these steps are more critical than ever, recruiters say, because jumping ship may make it more difficult to find another new job later. Read more here.

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Inaugural Exhibition of the McEvoy Foundation for the Arts – Professor Viswanathan co-authors SSRN’s "Top Paper of 2017" – When Deportation is a Death Sentence – A project to “restate” copyright law – Alum named 2018 Antitrust Lawyer of the Year – Posh Hotels & Swanky Cocktails in the Tenderloin – Calling out racists actually good for health – Bay Area Corporate Counsel Winners – and much more

University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco is redefining legal education through our experiential, interdisciplinary, and international approach to the law. We integrate rigorous academics with hands-on practice, preparing our graduates to tackle the legal challenges—and leverage the opportunities—of the 21st century.